


Make It Last All Year

by gelbes_gilatier



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Christmas, F/M, Food, Holidays, Norway (Country), Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-10
Updated: 2014-12-10
Packaged: 2018-03-01 00:03:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2752106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gelbes_gilatier/pseuds/gelbes_gilatier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thor visits Jane in Norway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Make It Last All Year

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ArwenLune](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArwenLune/gifts).



> [Holiday Fic Request Meme](http://gelbes-gilatier.livejournal.com/357628.html), attempt #4. Eurgh. December 11th (yes, I backdated the post...) and I'm already a day behind on fics. So sorry for the delay but I've been mulling the prompt over ever since I got it and since I am still determined to finish this year's Holiday Fic Request Meme, I put myself under a lot of pressure. I finally found something, thanks to **mackenziesmomma** being my sounding board and **pingulotta** helping out with her extensive knowledge about Norway and Norwegian customs. I'm not sure if I'll be able to catch up with the rest of the prompts before the end of December and again, I'm sorry for the delay with this one _but_ it's done now and I hopeyou enjoy it :D Also, first fic I ever wrote from Thor's POV and let me tell you, that guy's a real challenge. He actually exhausts me and I kinda hope that's just because I have never written him before :S I hope I do him justice, though...

**Make It Last All Year **

_“It is the season of the heart_  
 _A special time of caring_  
 _The ways of love made clear_  
 _It is the season of the spirit_  
 _The message if we hear it_  
 _Is ‘Make it last all year’.”_

_Muppets, “It Feels Like Christmas”_

  
He should not be here. Jane is here for safety, the entire purpose of taking a new assignment in the home of the ancient Vikings being that she is unrecognized, can disappear in the crowd of unsuspecting Midgardians surrounding her. And yet here he is, roaming with her through Oslo. Or rather being dragged by her to something she called a Christmas market. There had been shock when he first appeared on her doorstep – providing the address was Tony Stark’s “Christmas present”, as the Man of Iron had called it when he had tossed him the flash drive – but she had recovered remarkably fast, and immediately decided that she would show him her new home, after Darcy hinted that “maybe you two would like to get a room?”.

As it is the month of December, many Midgardians celebrate the festival called Christmas. He has heard of it before, learned about the basics from his tutors in lore of the Nine Realms, Wikipedia and most importantly the wonders of the Library of Congress. He knows what its foundations are, how it looks, that not all Midgardians celebrate it, that Tony has a history of not celebrating it at all, that Natasha and Clint have a history of disappearing around the middle of December to somewhere not even the combined powers of the Man of Iron and Bruce Banner could reveal and resurfacing not earlier than the first week of January, and never before the 6th and that Steve spends all December helping the poor.

He has just never seen it with Jane before. He has never before seen the delight on Jane’s face – almost as bright as when she is talking science – has never before seen her eyes light up and her cheeks glow in the cold. “Come on,” she says and tugs at his Midgardian garment’s sleeve, “it’s right over there. You’re gonna love it. Darcy made me go three days ago, and it was almost as good as discovering a new exo-planet!”

Very well, then. He smiles, lets her drag him towards the brightly lit stalls and huts on the other side of the street, watches her prance for a step or two beneath the glowing reindeers and then they’re in the throng of people moving around and between stalls and huts with a plethora of wares on display. There are candles and gloves and scarves and jewelry… and food. So much _food_.

The square smells of it. So many, many smells. Meaty and greasy and spicy and smoky and sweet and he can detect the smell of ale and of alcohol of various forms mixed with spices, thinks he even smelled mead for a moment of walking at Jane’s side, holding her hand in his and watching her being interested in what the merchants have to offer.

He accompanies her for a while, mostly silent, just taking it all in and deciding that what the Midgardians lack in technological progress, they make up for in cheer in their festival celebrations and the sheer variety of edible things. Asgard has a great many wonderful meals to offer but for an unfathomable reason, his fascination with Midgardian food almost rivals his affection for Jane. So it is no miracle that he nearly misses her addressing him when he discovers a small stand selling what smells like salmon being grilled on an open fire and she says, “You’re hungry, aren’t you?”

He blinks and then looks at her, feeling sheepish and maybe blushing a bit like a maiden and apparently having had stared so openly that even Jane had noticed it. “Famished.”

She grins at him and gives him a short peck on the cheek, then searches around for finding the object of his fascination. Her eyes land on the stall selling the salmon. “You want some of that?”

Well… yes. “I have a mind to try some, yes.” Thankfully, Tony supplied him with the coin used in Norway before sending him on his merry way to see his beloved Jane, so at least he does not have to let her pay for the a piece of salmon in a roll of white bread, topped with what Americans call sour cream after they walk over and he orders some. And by Odin, what a hearty taste this small meal has.

“Good, huh?” Oh, verily so. The tangy sour cream blends so very well with the spiced salmon that he can’t help lick some of it off his fingers.

He grins. “Would you like to try?”

To his disappointment, Jane wrinkles her nose. “Nah, not a big fish eater. But there was some great sausage further down.”

Ah, sausage. Sausage sounds very fine, as well. “Well then, lead the way.”

That makes her make a delicate little sound that might or might not have been a snort. “As if I haven’t been doing that all the time.” Then she seems to realize something, her face looking as if she feels embarrassed. “Oh God, I’ve been a klutz, haven’t I? Just dragging you here when you guys probably don’t even celebrate…”

“We do not.” Oh, no, she looks so crestfallen. That was not his intention. “We do celebrate Midwinter. There are lights and there is cheer and free flowing mead, lots of food…”

Mischief returns to her face, warming his heart. “So, basically like Christmas?”

“Very much so.” In those aspects, at least. The spiritual ones are thoroughly different, and his mother would lecture him on them in details, were she here. And his brother would be smirking, were he here. They are not, though, and he does not want to dwell on it in the least, so he grabs the next best diversion he has. “Will you show me the sausages now?”

He can see that for a moment, Jane still wishes to quiz him on Midwinter or maybe she saw something in his face when he was contemplating his mother and Loki but then she visibly makes herself return to her previous cheerful disposition and links her arm to his, taking up their stroll through the throngs of people bustling around them until they come to a stall emitting the wonderful aroma of ground and spiced meat sizzling on a cooking grate.

This time, Jane orders, something called “pølse med brød”, in what sounds like the local language. He cannot help but be impressed. “You are a truly widely educated scholar, Jane!”

That makes her laugh outright and take a hearty bite of the sausage the vendor put in a bun. “Knowing just enough Norwegian to order a hotdog does _not_ make me “widely educated”.”

“It is an important skill, is it not?” For a moment, she regards him suspiciously, as if she’s wondering if he really did say that just now but then she rolls her eyes. Very obviously, she has discovered the grin tugging at the corners of his mouth that belies the severity of his words.

“Probably. If you love hotdogs the way I do, at least.” People like to see him as the god of thunder, as a big blustering man on whom subtleties are usually lost. And yet he heard very well the wistfulness in those words, as much as she tried to make it sound as if she were just jesting. As much as Jane enjoys Christmas time in Oslo, she yearns for home, that is, all of a sudden, plain to see.

He tries to find the right words, projecting levity to stop making her feel sick for her home, not coming up with much. “Jane…”

“I’m fine, Thor. I miss home and all, but it’s good to get out, get some professional experience outside the US academic circles and everything. Besides, I have Darcy. Really could be worse.” Well, Darcy’s presence here in Oslo _is_ a relief, seeing as that she might not look like much but she is a worthy warrior and fiercely protective of Jane, making sure that she eats and sleeps and keeping her surroundings in check. “Also… I have _you_ , at least for the next couple of days. Right?”

As long as it takes S.H.I.E.L.D. to discover that he went against their orders, at least. He tries a smile. “Right.”

“See? Everything’s good.” She pretends, still does, but it is just as obvious that she does not want him to keep commenting on it, reminding her that she is _not_ just here to widen her horizon. He does not want to hurt her, so he keeps silent. “Alright, let’s go find something I can give Darcy. I’m terrible at finding good gifts, and I really need to find her _something_ …”

She keeps talking, taking his hand and walking along the stalls with him and he lets her, smiling to himself. He still wishes he could share all his days with her, have her all year but alas, it is not to be, not yet, so he resolves to savor the time he _does_ have with her, not waste it with morose musings, and that savoring starts now. There will be time for everything else later yet, will it not?


End file.
